Unexpected Holiday
by Riku-Rocks
Summary: Nearly nine months after the birth of their son Riku, Sephiroth learns of Mother’s Day and, with the help of his two most trusted friends, manages to make the day a little special for his wife. Takes place after Unspoken Ardour, but can be read alone.


_Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Kingdom Hearts._

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Hilargi lifted the latest stack of files to be dropped on her desk that afternoon and massaged her temple, thinking that there really needed to be a law against being called in on weekends. She shifted in her seat and began poring over what she hoped would be the last report for the day.

Suddenly a smaller hand than even her own moved over her desk and into her line of vision, accompanied by a small sealed envelope.

The claret-haired woman looked up from her desk to see the department superior, Ienzo. As usual, he looked impassive touching on bored. At first she had been unnerved by the teen, thinking it just was not natural for a child to be in his position, however, he was one of Sephiroth's few friends. In truth, a large part of the reason that the boy unsettled her was because he reminded her of Sephiroth on some level…she could imagine that those serving under the silvered man had once felt the same way.

Hilargi took the offered envelope and looked at the abnormally young scientist. "What is this, sir?"

"A message," replied the teen quietly, glancing around casually as though disinterested. He stepped closer to her desk, voice still low as he continued, "From Roth…I saw him earlier and he requested that I give it to you."

Icy blue eyes blinked as Hilargi wondered if she had misinterpreted the teen's wandering gaze a moment before. "Thank you."

Ienzo nodded and, to the woman's surprise, did not walk away. Instead, he looked as though he were searching for something to say. After a very brief moment, he apparently found it; "I didn't know that today was Mother's Day… I'm sorry you were called in. You may leave…I have already spoken to your immediate supervisor."

A small smile graced the claret-haired woman's features. She nodded to the adolescent, "Thank you again. I'll finish this file first thing in the morning before heading into the lad."

The boy nodded and smirked slightly as he spoke over his shoulder while he turned to leave, "I would check my schedule first."

Slightly confused, Hilargi quickly filed the report she was currently working on, stuffed Sephiroth's note in her purse, and pulled up her schedule on the company system. Since she had already clocked in, she would be receiving a full day's pay for the current day and she now had the following day off.

Making a mental note to find out what Sephiroth knew about this, the icy-eyed woman left for home. Once she had left Ansem's medical research centre, she pulled out the envelope Ienzo had handed her and broke the seal with her fingernail. The missive was brief and nondescript, so anyone else who happened to read it would have no idea of whom it what for, who had written it, or what their relationship was.

_I will be leaving earlier than expected. Do not start without me. I shall see you then._

Hilargi smiled to herself as she automatically translated the note in her mind. Her husband would be coming home early, did not want her to start diner for some reason, and was looking forward to the evening…she was suspicious already.

Her min quickly changed directions when she opened the door to their house, only to catch the lingering fragrances of wet paint, paint thinner, Riku's baby shampoo, and baby powder.

Not for the first time, Hilargi wondered how she let Sephiroth talk her into allowing Zack to baby-sit.

Taking a deep breath and hoping the sitting room was not a total disaster; the claret haired woman fully entered the house and closed the door behind her. There were signs of a paint trail having been recently cleaned, paper and a few wrappers were littering the floor, a glass of juice sat beside a bottle on the coffee table -the coasters having been ignored or forgotten-, and there seemed to be a dusting of baby powder on the floor. Any irritation Hilargi might have felt ebbed as soon as she walked around to see the couch.

Her husband's other dear friend, always a complete contrast to Sephiroth, lay stretched across the couch on his back, asleep. He had one arm draped over his eyes and the other wrapped protectively around Riku, who was curled up on the young man's chest, also sleeping soundly.

Smiling, the claret-haired woman stepped forward and reached out to touch her son's hair. Before she could make contact, the arm that had been draped lazily over Zack's head snapped forward to grab her wrist while the other arm tightened around Riku, shifting him aside defensively as violet eyes flew open and darted to Hilargi.

For a few seconds the two simply stared at one another, shocked. Then Zack released the scientist's wrist and grinned, "Hey Hilargi…sorry about that. Say, you're home early. I expected Seph to beat you here."

Hilargi rolled her eyes and then noticed that her nine-month-old son had not woken, but had merely stirred and then adjusted more comfortably against his godfather's chest. She then glanced at the young SOLDIER. "Ienzo let me leave early…he said he hadn't known it was Mother's Day. I got the feeling he didn't even know such a holiday existed."

"He probably didn't," stated Zack, sounding rather certain as he shifted Riku while sitting up. "Neither did Seph…I asked if you had anything planned for your first Mother's Day and he had no idea what I was talking about. He probably decided to inform Ienzo when they met up for lunch today. He likes to look out for the kid…"

The icy-eyed woman nodded as she started picking up the paper and wrappers on the ground. "I've noticed."

"Hey," the raven-haired man stood carefully while adjusting his hold on Riku again. "I'll get that…just let me put this guy to bed. He worked hard today."

"What do you mean?" questioned Hilargi, arching an eyebrow at the young man. "What have you been doing with him?"

"He wanted to surprise you," replied the violet-eyed teen as he headed to the nursery. He grinned and glanced over his shoulder, "So does this mean I can take off early? Maybe I can catch Aerith before she takes her mother out…"

The claret-haired woman smiled before calling her reply to the other room as she picked up Riku's bottle. "Yes, you're free. Thank you for taking care of him so often…I know it can't be all that enjoyable for you."

"Of course it's enjoyable, he's my godson," Zack called back as he entered the sitting room again while Hilargi was walking through the dining room to enter the kitchen. He began cleaning up the mess he had made. "I have to make sure to get in some quality imprinting so he's bonded to me…how else are we going to torture Seph together later on?"

The icy-eyed woman laughed lightly as she entered the kitchen, then she stopped immediately and smiled broadly. On the counter was a piece of cardstock, covered in tiny handprints and footprints of various colours. In the centre were the words _Happy 1__st__ Mother's Day Mommy_, which had clearly been written in paint with Riku's finger, guided by a much older hand.

She picked up the document and headed back into the sitting room, to find Zack digging his keys out of a chair cushion. The raven-haired teen spoke without looking up as he retrieved them, "He hides these every time…I swear he does it on purpose."

"Well would you want you to leave if you were him?" questioned Hilargi. "With you or Sephiroth, he can do no wrong and gets nearly everything he wants…he doesn't even have to make any sounds or motions with Sephiroth anymore. His eyes just shift towards daddy and then Sephiroth somehow knows whether he wants a bottle or needs to be changed or just wants to be held…I have no idea how he does it."

"It's because Riku is a little mini-Seph just as I always said he would be," replied Zack as he turned to look at Hilargi again.

She held up the homemade card, "Thank you, Zackary. This was very sweet of you."

The violet-eyed teen grinned and waved off the gratitude. "Riku had fun and I'm sure he'll like to know that he did something for you today in the future. I opened some more windows…you're probably going to want to air the place out a little longer."

The claret-haired woman nodded, "I'll do that."

Zack chuckled and scratched the back of his head, "Yeah, sorry about that. Riku didn't want me to put his shoes back on and he ran through the blotting papers before taking off… I got all the paint up though. Do you need anything before I leave?"

"No, that's fine. Have fun with Aerith…and tell her I send my regards." Hilargi shook her head with a grin as the teenager checked Riku once more, grabbed his jacket, and left with a wave. The icy-eyed woman sighed, "And my condolences…I hope that poor girl knows what a bundle of energy she's dating."

The claret-haired woman finished tiding up the house while Riku napped. He had clearly just had a bath before her arrival, so she only changed his diaper before setting him on the floor to play. Within a few minutes, the boy went from playing quietly to releasing a delighted squeal and scampering for the door.

Hilargi was not surprised when the door opened and Sephiroth entered with a small smile. The silvered man swooped up the child without breaking stride and turned to close and lock the door behind him before the baby wrapped his tiny arms around his neck.

Sephiroth returned the embrace before carrying the boy across the room to greet his wife, "Have you had an enjoyable day?"

The icy-eyed woman smiled and kissed him before accepting a sealed greeting card. "Thank you. Yes, I have, although I don't know how you managed to get us both off work early. …And why couldn't I start dinner?"

The feline-eyed man grinned. "I should have expected you to work that out so swiftly. I merely told Ienzo that it was Mother's Day this morning after learning of it. He saw to it that you had the remainder of the day off afterwards. As far as everyone at Shinra and Ansem's centre are concerned, I am with Ienzo…he has remained in his quarters since leaving you. Dinner has already been prepared and is in the refrigerator; it only needs to be heated."

Hilargi blinked and then realised that Zack and Riku's card had distracted her before she could open the refrigerator a couple hours previously. She smirked as Sephiroth passed her, entered the kitchen, and began to pull several take-out containers from her favourite restaurant from the refrigerator while cradling Riku in one arm.

The claret-haired woman followed him into the room and watched this with a smile. "How did you get that without me or anyone noticing?"

"I left to retrieve it just after Zackary arrived and informed me of the holiday," replied the silvered man, still holding his son casually as he preheated the oven. "The restaurant's staff was kind enough to ignore their waiting list for the order and I stated that it was for Ienzo and I, as we would be too busy to stop for food later. I am afraid I will have to leave early in the morning…Zackary, Ienzo, and I will need to ensure the work we were supposedly doing today is completed by the time everyone else arrives in for work."

"You arranged all of this since Zackary arrived this morning?" asked Hilargi in surprise.

"Naturally…and here I thought you were aware that I am more than a pretty face and a strong pair of arms." Sephiroth smirked lightly as he turned back to his wife after having placed the food in the oven. "Perhaps I overestimated you…"

"Oh you-" The claret-haired woman grinned and stepped forward to slap her husbands chest lightly. Then she laughed and wrapped her arms around his waist, he returned the embrace with his free arm. "Thank you, Enkeli. This was a wonderful surprise."

"Thank you," the silvered man said in reply as he shifted Riku once they released one another. "Are you going to open that?"

Hilargi realised that she was still holding the unopened card he had given her. It turned out to be a simple but nice card, which would have been rather generic had he not written in it himself. Despite that, she was greatly touched.

Then she realised that the great General Sephiroth could not simply walk into a store and buy a Mother's Day card…"Zackary?"

"Who else?" replied her husband.

"You sent him to get you a Mother's Day card?"

"How else was I supposed to acquire one?" Sephiroth noticed the hand and footprint covered cardstock on the table and smiled lightly as he looked at his son. The boy smiled in returned and they looked at one another as though sharing their thoughts.

Hilargi smiled again, noticing that they had been doing that a lot more lately, as Sephiroth brushed Riku's hair away from his face. "His hair grows as fast as yours," she commented. "He's going to be quite the looker when he grows up."

"Just like his mother," remarked Sephiroth.

The claret-haired woman walked forward to hug her husband again. "Maybe he'll be as fortunate as I am then…to find someone so wonderful."

Sephiroth gently kissed her temple, "Happy Mother's Day."


End file.
